Welcome to the FIRST DEV The Solution Game Jam!
DEV The Solution is a nonprofit organization that encourages game development to help solve significant global problems. A major part of that will be hosting regular game jams centered around the theme of helping educate about real life challenges facing humankind as well as providing potential solutions.
It's going to take the global community to help make things right in our world. We believe the game development community can and will be a major player in making positive social change, helping to expedite progress in arguably the smoothest and coolest way possible.
Theme
The game jam theme can be on any significant global problem you feel compelled to work on. If you are exploring ideas to work on, our suggestions are anything that helps with the fight against climate change, as well as anything that helps support one or more of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Prizes
Up to $1000 in prizes will be awarded in cash and or digital gift cards. All prizes are split evenly among all members of a team.
- People's Choice Award - Project that receives the highest rating ($200)
- Most researched/scientifically supported project ($150)
- Most creative/innovative SOLUTION to a problem ($150)
- Best project on the topic of climate change ($150)
- Best project addressing one or more of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals ($150)
- Best Simulation ($100)
- Best VR/AR Project ($100)
Recognition for your Accomplishments
All games/projects submitted that stand out as exceptional regardless of being a prize winner or not will be featured on the DEV The Solution website and shared through social media to help promote what you have created as well as to help get the word out about the power of game development for positive social impact. https://www.devthesolution.org
Payment Options for Winning Teams
- All payments are on an individual basis for a team, one person might want a gift card, while another teammate may prefer a paypal payment. It’s up to you.
- Whether a solo game developer or individual on a team, you can request a direct paypal or venmo payment.
- Digital gift cards that either have a custom amount or an amount that is exactly the amount you are awarded. Example: Amazon digital gift cards can be made in any amount. However some gift cards such as for the Steam store come in denominations of $5, $10, $25, $50, and $100. Multiple can be purchased if it adds up to the exact amount.
- Donation to a charitable organization in your name. If interested, please choose one of the charities below:
United Nations (Choose a specific U.N. agency)
https://www.un.org/en/about-us/how-to-donate-to-the-un-system
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
Doctors Without Borders
International Rescue Committee (IRC)
Eligibility for Prizes
To be considered for winning a prize you must submit your game/project to itch.io using the Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 Creative Commons license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/.)
You can absolutely participate in this game jam and not follow the above license recommendation, you can certainly charge for your game, but you will not be able to win a prize.
Voting Criteria
This game jam will have voting criteria used to rank games/projects that will ultimately help to determine the winners of the various awards. Voting will be open to the public, the specific voting criteria is as follows:
- Relevance to Theme [How well the Problem and Solution is Communicated]
- Technical Excellence [Research, Design, Engineering]
- Aesthetics [Visual & Audio Presentation]
- Immersion [Gameplay, Storytelling Engagement, Overall Experience]
Terms and Conditions
Regarding prizes, we would like to award all of them. But if the amount of projects submitted are limited that may not be possible. Also we will not award a prize by default, an example is if there was only one VR project submitted, you would not automatically win the "Best VR/AR Project" award.
Naturally we want everyone to respect one another while jamming, by participating in this event you agree to our code of conduct, which can be viewed here: https://www.devthesolution.org/code-of-conduct
Choosing the winners will be based on the Criteria for voting/ranking projects. In the specific case of the "People's Choice Award" it will be 100% based on what project receives the best ranking. However, DEV The Solution does reserve the right to make the final decision as to who the winners are regardless of ranking.
Our age policy aligns closely with that of itch.io, as publishers and those participating in this game jam must be at least 18. Users must be 13 or older to use the itch.io platform, which means if you are under the age of 18 you cannot submit a project but you can certainly be involved in playing and rating games.
It's definitely encouraged that you share this game jam with friends and any community you are involved with so they can participate one way or another. Please do not ask specifically for people to vote for your project as that would not be fair to other participants.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What license will games/projects be submitted as?
A: You may have any license that fits your needs, but to be eligible for winning a prize you must submit your game/project to itch.io using the Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 Creative Commons license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/.) This basically means the team that created the game/project owns the original content and have total control as to what they would like to do with it, and that other people can download, modify and distribute for non-commercial purposes, but must state who the original creator of the content was.
Q: When will the winners be announced?
A: Within one week after the September 17th deadline.
Q: Can programming and art assets be used?
A: Yes, as long as the licenses and terms of use are being used accordingly.
Q: Can I win more than one prize?
A: Yes, but this would not be likely to occur.
Q: Can I submit more than one game/project for this game jam?
A: Yes
Q: What does the finished product need to have and or be like?
A: Submitted projects just need to be some kind of software application. It can be a mobile application, AR, VR, a simulation, more of a traditional video game, something considered part of the video game medium, or something completely new. On the most basic level it needs to be something that can be accessed by the itch.io community. All projects need to address one or more societal problems with at least one proposed solution.
Q: Can a project be made with any tool?
A: Yes, projects can be made using any tool or resource as long as license agreements are properly followed.
Q: What problems/challenges can my project be on?
A: The problem/challenge can be anything where there is strong logical evidence that it is in fact a problem/challenge.
Q: Are there any restrictions on content I submit for the game jam?
A: Yes, the project submitted must not contain any NSFW content, or anything that is considered universally offensive and or in poor taste/judgement.
Q: Does my project/application need to be in English?
A: No, but preferably each project will be able to communicate well to a diverse community of users.
Q: Is there a maximum amount of members a team can have?
A: No, but keep in mind if you are eligible for winning a prize, that you would split the prize evenly among all members of your team.
Q: Can I enter my itch.io game jam project into one of DEV The Solutions future main events?
A: Yes, but be sure to make additional upgrades to your game/project. Visit https://www.devthesolution.org for more information.
Q: How can I get in contact with DEV The Solution for any questions or feedback?
A: We will have the community forum open, you can also contact us at: info@devthesolution.org
Join our discord community to connect with likeminded problem solvers
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